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Despite having little information available, there are a fair amount of podcasts out there for Overwatch. I like Overwatchers in particular. And I just wanted to point I got a little shout out by Patrick Beja in Ep. 2 around the 12 minute mark...

Overwatch. Blizzard's first brand new IP since Starcraft was released in March of 1998. The title debuted at the 2014 Blizzcon in Anaheim California. Originally conceived as an MMO, the project was reset in 2013. The game will mark Blizzard's first released FPS and is drastically different from their other IPs. It will be the first earth centric title and takes a more "colorful" art direction with similarities to Pixar films. There is also a clear indication that Blizzard is prepared to create strong female characters among more diverse heroes. Of the twelve initially released heroes, five of them were female with Tracer becoming an instant icon as the game's main protagonist.

The game has taken criticism already, being dubbed as a vertical Team Fortress 2. Jeff Kaplan (the game's director) addressed this, saying, "There's some similarities .... but we're going in a different design direction then they are". He goes on to say, "All of us have been conditioned from recent shooters that are out ... Overwatch is about these amazing hero abilities. It's not about running around and putting people under your crossheirs." Reports from those who have played this game at the 2014 Blizzcon have suggested a close tie-in with TF2, but we have only seen the beginning of this project. It wouldn't be the first time Blizzard has taken and improved upon someone else's genre...

So Jonny is a lucky ducky. For those who don't know I WON TWO BLIZZCON TICKETS this past Monday. Unfortunately, with airfare and an extreme shortage of hotel rooms, I wasn't able to make it. I was, however, able to get the tickets to Jonny. So once again, we have a representative at Blizzcon this year!

And on top of that, the "panel" stage is also bare. Last year, if they had a super populare presentation, they would do it on the main stage and another panel stage. Guys, if they are showing LofV off, its probably going to be during the SC exibition like Papaz said. Its just not THAT popular to tie up that much space/time (sorry). I also think that the timing of the Titan cancelation is very ... timely. I think they wanted to kill off all expectations of Titan so that it wouldn't impact the reveal of something new. Guys, I think we are going to see a new game at Blizzcon this year.

Watching how this game is accepted by fans, both short term and long term, might be the best research as to how the reception towards Blizzard's second MMO might be. I can't think of another company that could so closely compare in circumstances to Blizzard's situation.

When I orignally joined up with TF, it was so I could be on the brink of information regarding the next big MMO. Naturally I thought this would be released by Blizzard. But then investing so much time and energy into Titan made me drift away from the thought of looking for the next great MMO, to focusing solo on Titan, in any form that it might take.

I think this is a healthy move for this community and a wake up call to remind us of what we are truly looking for. I will alway be a Blizzard fanboy, and I will probably play the living Hamsters rock, Squirrels suck! out of Titan went it releases. But, its time we scope out our path. We are not a bunch of casual gamers looking for the next Hearthstone (as great as it is), but the Hardcore of the Hardcore constantly seeking out the best damn MMOs the horizan has to offer. WHOS WITH ME MEN!?... And women also ofc

Join with fellow builders overnight on the first night of SOE Live for a special mega-build event! Following the Welcome Reception, head out to the Mezzanine at 9:00PM PDT to join in this special building project. It's guaranteed to be an exciting adventure!

Friday:

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Landmark Keynote

This is a panel not to be missed! Join us for the Landmark keynote panel. More details to come!

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Landmark Live Quest: Dice Game

Can you harvest enough rare resources to come out on top in our Landmark dice game? This year’s live quest borrows from familiar dice games, but with Landmark-specific twists. Can you "craft" enough tools to come out on top?

Join the team as we talk about the current building tools, some of the things you can do with them and discuss planned improvements, and share ideas and suggestions for making them better!

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Landmark and EverQuest Next

There are lots of questions about how the games are connected and how they’re different. Let’s talk about both games and how we get from one to the other!

Saturday:

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: The Islands of Landmark

Let’s talk about all the procedural generated goodness in the world. Find out how all of the pieces fit together and give the team ideas and suggestions on how you think we could make them cooler and more interesting!

August 14-17 will be the first SOE live since Everquest Next was revealed at last year's show! It is expected that we will be getting some new EQN news. There will be a 50/50 focus on Landmark and Next. While the entire show will not be live streamed, several of the SOE panels will. So keep your schedules clear, because your not going to want to miss the next bit of EQN news (and we can hang out in live chat like last year and get all gitty over the game together again!) In the mean time, take this time to re-watch last year's reveal:

level 40 is totally doable as long as you fight your ADD There is a lot of ditractions that net you no XP gain whatsoever. But, thats kinda the beauty of this game. I plan on going at my own pace, doing whatever suits me. I do have a goal of 50 by the beginning of the third week however.